About Me (Sam)

We realize that many of you have not yet had a chance to meet Brittany or me. So, we thought we’d do some brief introductions. Let’s start by turning the clock back a smidge...

My mother Eileen Hacking was raised on a dairy farm near Rexburg, Idaho. She was called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pennsylvania. While serving there, she was involved in a car accident. The insurance agent, James Lentz, became curious about the black name tag she and the other missionary wore. He began investigating the Church and decided to get baptized. He was set back a bit, though, in finding out that he couldn’t date her. So, he decided to take a train to Rexburg and work on the farm to win over her family. Apparently, that did the trick! Once she finished her mission, he brought her back to Pennsylvania, where they were soon married. They had two wonderful children (Derek and Kathy) and then I showed up. :)

I was born in February 1984 and raised in Millersburg, Pennsylvania—about 45 minutes north of Harrisburg. I stayed pretty active chasing soccer balls, baseballs, and basketballs. My high school was pretty small (2001 graduating class of 60), so I had plenty of opportunities to have fun and get involved. The size of the Millersburg LDS branch I attended fluctuated, so often I’d participate with the Harrisburg Ward for scouts and youth activities. Somehow, I was able to squeak by with my Eagle Scout award the week I left for college.

Starting in 2001, I attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Because of my love for zeroes and ones and all things digital, I studied information systems at the Marriott School of Management. I took two years off to serve a two-year full-time mission for the Church in Pocatello, Idaho. Even though I spoke English and did not go to an exotic location, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. It was incredible and was one of the best learning experiences of my life. By the time I returned home, my parents had moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. (At least they had the decency to tell me their new address!) Soon thereafter, I returned to BYU and finished with my bachelor’s and master’s degree in December 2006.

During the first few months of 2007, I wanted to mix things up a bit, so I traveled to Kenya to volunteer with Yehu Microfinance. While there, I also took a week off to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Simply phenomenal! On the return flight, I used a little tomfoolery and shenanigans to turn my two-hour layover in Amsterdam into a two-week layover. I got a Eurail pass and hit the tracks—visiting 9 European cities in 14 days. It was an incredible experience, but when I take Brittany there someday, I think I’ll slow down a little bit!

When I got back to the states, I took a little road trip around the Western US before settling down into real life. It had to happen sooner or later, I suppose. After a summer internship with KPMG in Mountain View, California in 2006, I decided that was the life for me. I’ve now been working there for about a year and a half as an IT consultant. Working in beautiful Silicon Valley, I’ve been lucky enough to work on fun clients like Apple Computer, Google, and EMC².

Honestly, I thought I was perfectly happy with my life, basking in the wonderful sunlight of singlehood. And then... Brittany happened. And I couldn’t be happier. She is everything to me. I can’t imagine a better match, and I’m so glad she said yes! It blows me away that I get to be with her forever. I can’t wait to see how our love will grow and develop with time. To boot, I'm marrying into an incredible family. I love the Waltons, and I'm excited to more than double my pool of cute nieces and nephews. Hopefully, you'll get to see them dancing at the wedding!